Saturday, August 30, 2008

Today our volunteers signed up our 2,800th rally captain! This has been accomplished in only two and a half months of calling!

I thought readers might be interested in some very interesting statistics. Since June 16th when we began our calls, we have placed 25,000 outgoing calls! We have taken 5,000 incoming calls. This of course does not even count the many emails and correspondence received as well.

I hope these numbers give you some idea of the tremendous dedication of our volunteers! This also speaks volumes of our rally captains. Obviously the statistics show that the overwhelming majority of those called are unable to become rally captains, at least not for this year. The age, health, work and family obligations of some whom we contact may be obstacles that make it very difficult to become a rally captain.

Sadly, sometimes there are those who do not fully see the importance of the Public Square Rosary, or, others who are apprehensive because of human respect, fearing criticism from some members of the public who may be opposed to the public rosaries.

The rally captains then, really represent a potent and dedicated minority who love our Lady so much that they will not let anything get in the way of the Public Square Rosary. I believe they are the leaven Our Lady will use as channels for Her abundant graces to bring about the repentance and conversion of many!

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America Needs Fatima held a public act of protest and reparation for a blasphemous insult against Jesus Christ at Lorain County Community College today at 12 noon.

News reports describe a large poster put up by an atheist student group depicting a Christ figure being kissed by a man, with the words, "Jesus Christ had a homosexual relationship".

Many other students were upset by this and when one of them took the poster down, he was turned over to security. The college defended their action against the student, declaring,it is no way limiting "freedom of speech", as the poster continues to be displayed.

America Needs Fatima vehemently objects to this toleration of blasphemy against Our Lord and calls for its immediate removal, together with a public apology from the college for allowing the display of the insulting poster which offends God, Our Lord, and all Christians.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Rossville, Kansas; August 29, 2008 – Thousands of Catholic volunteers are preparing to pray the Public Square Rosary to save America from the sins of abortion and same-sex “marriage.”

America Needs Fatima coordinated 2,129 Rosary Rallies last year. This year, the goal is 3,000 Public Square Rosary Rallies nationwide and the target date is Saturday, October 11, at noon, local time.

At the group’s campaign headquarters in Rossville, Kansas, coordinator Francis Slobodnik announced that they had crossed the threshold of 2,800 Rosary Rally Captains.

“Over 2,800 people agreed to organize these rallies in every state. People are really excited and momentum is picking up fast,” noted Mr. Slobodnik. “Participants will proclaim their faith publicly, pray for America, and send a clear message to secularists who want to ban God from the public square.”

“The office is buzzing with activity. Rosary volunteers and staff are busy contacting new rosary captains, answering questions and sending out supplies. Our biggest challenge is not recruiting rally captains, but rather finding the time to speak with all the people who call in and express interest,” Mr. Slobodnik said.

“More and more people are looking to the Fatima message because it offers a sure remedy to the moral crisis in society.” Mr. Slobodnik continued. “In other words, prayer, penance and conversion are the answer to our nation’s pressing problems.”

America Needs Fatima also distributed one hundred thousand copies of the book Sermons of Hope for Times of Natural Disasters by Saint Alphonsus Ligouri free of charge to Catholics and non-Catholics. To join the Rosary Rallies or to receive a free copy, call toll-free: 1-866-584-6012.

My wife Jenny and I took the statue of Our Lady of Fatima to visit a lady and her sick mother in the hospital last night. She was just diagnosed with lung cancer as of a week ago and is not very coherent now.

When we arrived, there were six other woman in the room praying. When we unveiled Our Lady, one of the woman immediately dropped to her knees and began to sing to Our Lady. This woman had great faith.

We prayed a Rosary together and then I spoke a little about our apostolate. I passed out the intention envelope for those who had intentions they wanted to write down to send to Fatima. I did not solicit donations, but these fervent women all offered donations.

The lady we went to visit is very distraught over the situation with her mother. And her husband died 15 years ago. And her mother lives with her severely mentally handicapped brother. I asked her if she would like me to bring the the image of Our Lady to their home.

She said yes and we brought Our Lady to her mother's house.

The one woman who had dropped to her knees when we arrived with Our Lady, ended up going room to room in the hospital, handing out some of the devotional materials I brought, to other patients.

I believe one of the woman who was in the room at the hospital, is scheduled for a home visit from a Fatima Custodian next week. All in all, it was a blessed visit and I hope Our Lady brings her and them all great comfort.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

A volunteer at our call center spoke with a woman from Massachusetts who has cancer and is going through chemotherapy. The treatments have made her quite exhausted and ill, nevertheless she is already working on getting the necessary permit to hold her rally in front of her local city hall on October 11th.

What admirable devotion.

Today we have a total of 2,765 rally captains. If you haven't signed up yet, I would encourage you to do so as soon as possible. Even if you haven't selected your location yet, you can sign up and get your banner and kit in the mail and then let us know your location later.

Sometimes we are asked why the rally is not on October 13th, the anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun. The date for the public rosary was a difficult decision. However, since the 13th is on a work day, the number of rallies possible would be far less than our goal. The 11th is a Saturday when just about everyone is free.

In the end we decided that Our Lady would be more pleased with 3,000 rallies on the 11th as opposed to a 1,000 or less on the 13th. I am certain that on the 11th everyone present at the rallies will be thinking about what happened on the 13th of October 1917.

Italian museum board to decide future of Kippenberger artwork after official went on hunger strike

A sculpture in northern Italy depicting a crucified green frog holding a beer mug and an egg could be soon removed from display after Pope Benedict condemned it as blasphemous.

The board of the Museion museum in the city of Bolzano was meeting today to decide whether to comply with the wishes of the Pope and other opponents of the 1.3m (4ft) wooden sculpture, Reuters reported.

The work by the late German artist Martin Kippenberger is called Zuerst die Füsse (Feet First). The frog with its tongue hanging out is wearing a green loin cloth and is nailed through the hands and feet on a brown cross in the manner of Jesus Christ.

Three of our volunteers recently signed up three rally captains with some amazing stories.

The first was the rally captain who is totally blind. Not only is he blind, but his wife and some of his children are blind also. They are going to be offering their public rosary walking around their block.

The second was a rally captain who called into our office. Somehow he stumbled upon our America Needs Fatima site and the Public Square Rosary section really grabbed his attention. He called wanting to know how to become a rally captain. He also called for one other reason, he doesn't know how to pray the rosary. Our volunteer gave him excellent advice about praying the rosary and showed where on the site he could learn how to pray the rosary. This new captain so moved by grace is planning on zealously praying his rosary together with others at his Public Square Rosary Rally on October 11th.

The third was a gentleman from California who was not really practicing his Catholic Faith. One day his son who was eight years old said something to him that really made his seriously think about his faith, or lack of it. He began practicing his faith again. He told our volunteer that his big turning point was the Public Square Rosary from last year. This year he is resolved not only to organize his only public rosary, but to try to have one on as many blocks surrounding his neighborhood as possible.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

On Saturday, August 16th Public Square Rosary Captain, Mrs. Nancy Spaide held a public rosary in front of the city hall in Berwick, PA.

The local Press Enterprise published an article with photos of the event. The title of the article is, "Rosary Rally May Rile Some In Berwick, Catholic Event at City Hall Aims to End 'Immorality' in US".

This demonstrates that there is indeed a spiritual war that is taking place. What could be so controversial about praying the rosary in public? The answer is that the rosary is a powerful weapon against evil. Obviously, brave Mrs. Spaide knows that.

In the article Mrs. Spaide was quoted as saying, "People have abandoned God and we need to bring Him back to America and all over the world". The article also noted that according to Mrs. Spaide, someone threw eggs at her vehicle after the rally.

A crowd of around forty attended Mrs. Spaide's rally. Bravo to Mrs. Spaide and to all of the upcoming rally captains.

New Volunteers Who Will Do a Lot to Bring Us Closer to Our Goal of 3,000 Rally Captains.

This week we are honored to welcome more volunteers to increase the rally captain count. Three time zones are represented with this group. They come from a variety of backgrounds, but all are here for the same reason, to enlist more rally captains for Our Lady!

From the left there is Mr. Reeys Falcon from Skidmore, TX, Mrs. Patricia McDowell next to her husband from Carlisle, PA. Next we have Mrs. Rita Martinez from Ada, OK, Miss Catherine Schneider from Alexandria, LA, and Mrs. Thelma Escaro both seasoned veterans from last year and Mrs. Christina Hughes from Coral Springs, FL.

With such a talented, devoted and dedicated group of volunteers we will grow much closer to 3,000 rally captains for October 11th!

Please pray for the members of the Saint Joseph caravan that departed from our headquarters in Spring Grove, PA, yesterday. They will campaign in defense of traditional marriage in California.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

At first sight the two most famous Marian apparitions seem to have little in common. A closer look reveals a mysterious link between them

Among Catholics there is an impression that Lourdes and Fatima have little to do with each other, beyond the fact that Our Lady appeared at both places. It even seems to be a different Our Lady who came to each place.

At Lourdes she is a mother full of compassion for the sick, causing healing waters to spring forth and working wondrous cures. At Fatima there is no marvelous spring and no list of spectacular cures, just unsettling prophecies and mysterious secrets. How could Our Lady be so different in these two apparitions?

These things might cause us to think Lourdes is about the mercy and goodness of God, while Fatima is about the severity of God.

Truth is, Lourdes and Fatima are two episodes of the magnificent story of Our Lady’s intervention in world affairs. What Our Lady began at Lourdes she continued at Fatima and both apparitions make up the same appeal to a sinful world to repent.

To do full justice to this magnificent story we could include Rue de Bac in Paris, where Our Lady came 28 years before Lourdes to give us the Miraculous Medal. We could also include La Salette, where Our Lady visited just a few years before Lourdes. Perhaps we might also add Akita, Japan (1973). These apparitions taken together form a coherent sequence.

There are yet others, but they are either not widely known among Catholics, or have not been approved by Holy Church as worthy of belief, so we will leave them outside our present considerations.

We will fail to grasp the significance of Our Lady coming to Lourdes if we do not think about the context in which it happened. At the time of the Lourdes apparitions, France – indeed all of Western society – was in dire spiritual decay. A spirit of pride and smug belief in the power of Progress had lulled people into thinking they no longer needed God.

Even as Our Lady was appearing to Saint Bernadette, the Englishman Charles Darwin was writing a book called On the Origin of Species which would become famous and convince multitudes that God was not our creator. In an outburst of insane pride, the celebrated German philosopher Nietzsche was proclaiming “God is dead.” These false prophets were enthusiastically listened to, because they gave people an excuse to expel God from their lives.

This is the background that we must take into consideration if we are to understand the significance of what Our Lady did at Lourdes. From the banal rock outcrop of Massabielle on the outskirts of a provincial backwater called Lourdes, there surged forth across the world a flood of graces and a revival of belief in the supernatural. The scientists whom everyone admired – even adulated! – were unable to work the cures that were so easy for Our Lady. Nor could the scientists dismiss or explain these spectacular cures that began to happen one after the other. Soon the sneering skeptics fell into sullen silence; the civil authorities that tried to thwart Bernadette and her “lady” fell back in defeat.

So when Our Lady cured – and still cures! – at Lourdes, it is not merely to show her maternal compassion for suffering; she also has the higher purpose of reminding us of the power of God.

While healing and mercy are very evident at Lourdes, it is not the whole picture. Our Lady also came there to beseech the world to convert from sin, above all the sin of atheism. This is the supreme sin of our time.

Franz Werfel tells us in The Song of Bernadette – his classic account of the Lourdes apparitions – that during the apparition of 25 February, Our Lady suddenly stopped looking at Bernadette and lifted her gaze to something far away…“Then she became distraught”, he writes. “She did not lean down toward her favorite. Her crystalline eyes painfully sought some far horizon. She seemed beset by visions – visions of torment and horror, for again and again her lips pronounced the word ‘penitence’. Her revulsion was very great, and Bernadette did her best to ease, by penitential acts, the lady’s presence in this revolting world. The lady shivered despite the fairness of the day. The roses at her feet were very faint and at the end of twenty minutes she withdrew.”

Penitence! Penitence! Penitence! These are the words uttered by the terrible angel who holds a burning sword over the world in the third part of the “secret of Fatima”, as published by the Vatican a few years ago. At Fatima we not only have Our Lady as a Mother full of anguish over her wayward children; we also have an avenging angel with a flaming sword. During the sixty years between Lourdes (1858) and Fatima (1917) mankind did not amend, but sank ever more into sin.

At Fatima it seems as if God can no longer prove His love through merciful miracles of healing. Mankind has grown deaf and nothing remains but the heavy hand of justice. In the apparition of 13 June 1917, Lucia dos Santos asked Our Lady to cure a sick boy. Our Lady replied “If he converts he will be cured within the year.” Cure? Yes, but conversion is the condition. During the last apparition, on 3 October, Lucia again asks for the cure of some sick persons. Our Lady responds “Some yes, others no; they must amend their lives and ask forgiveness for their sins.”

And what will be the consequences of not converting? One consequence will be hell. This is a reality often forgotten today – or worse, ridiculed. At Fatima Our Lady went out of her way to remind us of this reality. During the apparition of 13 July the three children were shown hell in all its horror.

The second consequence of sin is earthy catastrophes. Sadly, we cannot say mankind has amended its ways during the nine decades since Fatima. His Holiness Pope John Paul II remarked in his allocution at Fatima in May 1983, that far from converting, as Our Lady had asked, most of mankind “has gone in the opposite direction.” How can this be! How could we do the opposite of what Our Lady asked! Could anything be more foolish?

Yet it would be somewhat simplistic to say mercy is the message of Lourdes and justice the message of Fatima. We should not forget that God chastises only in order to convert. God is not seeking revenge, but our eternal salvation. We should not complain that He is being cruel if He has to lay the burden of suffering on us in this life so that we can enjoy eternal happiness in the next. What then is more important, our earthly life or our eternal one?

There is more however. Beyond the terrible prophecies of war, famine, destruction, persecution of the Church, and the annihilation of nations – all spoken of by Our Lady at Fatima – there is also the consolation of knowing that the conversion of the world has been prophesied too. “In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph and an era of peace will be granted to the world.”

There is a final important point: why did Our Lady say her Immaculate Heart will triumph, and not God will triumph? To answer this question we need to recall the very central role of the Virgin Mary in salvation.

The great Marian saint, Louis de Montfort, says in his True Devotion to Mary that it was through Mary that God came into the world and through Mary God will save the world. Not just poetic words these, but solid and profoundly orthodox Catholic theology. What Eve lost through sin, Mary recouped through virtue. In Genesis, God predicts that the heel of the Woman will crush the head of Satan and all his followers.

We can easily see the link between this prophecy of Genesis and Our Lady’s prophecy at Fatima that her Immaculate Heart will triumph. After all the frightful chastisements have come and gone, what will remain is the supreme, total and spectacular victory of Mary. Our Lady echoes St Louis de Montfort’s prediction of the coming Age of Mary when she says there will come a time of peace after a great conversion. Nor is it just St Louis de Montfort who predicted this but many other saints who received prophetic insights. We don’t know the details, but we can say with certainty that Our Lady will triumph. To triumph is to be completely victorious.

Monday, August 25, 2008

August 25 is the feast of Saint Louis IX, king, confessor of the Faith, Crusader and model of a Catholic head of state. There are two different ways people picture Saint Louis IX. One is as he truly was, the other is a soft, effeminate distortion of his person.

This dichotomy is similar to the one that exists between many artists’ renditions of Saint Pius X and pictures of him. On the one hand, the photographs portray a giant of a man, strong soul and spiritual king, conscious of his dignity.

On the other hand, many artists depict a feeble old grandfather, whose face begs pardon for being pope and regrets that he is not a simple priest. There is an abyss between this limp-wristed portrayal and the historic Saint Pius X, who was the hero against Modernism.

Many artists' renditions of Saint Pius X portray a limp-wristed distortion of his person as seen in photographs.

The same holds true with Saint Louis IX. On one hand, he is portrayed distributing justice under the famous oak tree in Vincennes, like a king that lived under the trees and preferred to sit around rather than lead the life of the castle, administrate the affairs of state and wage wars amid the pomp and ceremonial incumbent on the first kingdom of Christendom.

In these portrayals, he softly sits in judgment, certainly pardoning everyone and only dealing with simple things that do not require shrewdness, ingenuity or force of will. This has become the preponderant image of Saint Louis IX. The peasants who surround him are infected with the same softness. By association, the whole medieval world is portrayed in a clownish way, consisting of soft kings, surrounded by mountains of softness.

Likewise, many paintings of Saint Louis IX show a soft weakling that contradicts the historic reality of who he was and are in sharp contrast to other more realistic portrayals.

The enemies of Christian civilization skillfully use this representation to denigrate the kings who succeeded Saint Louis. “He was good because he was simple,” they say, “he just sat under his tree and judged.” Thus, they present Louis XIV in his glory at Versailles, surrounded by beauty and pomp, as something intrinsically wrong.

To repel this false image, it is good to remember the real Saint Louis IX, who was both a statesman and Crusader.

Saint Louis: The StatesmanSaint Louis IX was king of an organic monarchy. He was not a hands-off ruler who abandoned state affairs to his vassals, but rather one who knew his rights and responsibilities, and was protective of them. When his vassals sought to confront or diminish his authority, he resisted them to maintain royal power.

Nevertheless, he was also a great defender of the feudal lord’s autonomy in his fiefs. Once, while visiting a church, noisy patrons of a nearby pub began a ruckus that disturbed his prayer. When asked to give orders that the commotion stop, he responded: “Tell my men to find the lord of this fief and ask him to restore order.”

Although it would have been easier for him to give the command directly as king, his respect for feudal customs and all degrees of hierarchy would not allow him to interfere with the local governance. Out of love for the organic nature of society, he scrupulously maintained the feudal structure. In this, he was very different from later French kings, like Louis XVI, Louis XIII, Henry IV and even Louis XI, who systematically destroyed that same structure.

Saint Louis also protected the guilds and made them assent to a rule drafted from custom-based directives. This gave structure to these autonomous organizations. Thus, while supporting every legitimate independent power in his kingdom, he remained its gravitational center.

Saint Louis even defended his royal power against the Holy See. He confronted the Vatican for interfering in the strictly temporal affairs of France, pressing the issue until it retreated. When this was studied during the process for his canonization, he was vindicated.

Saint Louis: The CrusaderAs a warrior, Saint Louis fought on two Crusades and died of pestilence in Tunis. Sick and bedridden, he died defeated and tearful, while the whole world had pity on him. This sad story is historic, but not complete.

Saint Louis was also the king described by Joinville, who departed for the Crusades in all his magnificence, dominating his whole army and vested from head to foot in brilliant golden armor. When his boat first approached the Egyptian coast, his enthusiasm was such that he could not wait for the vessel to touch land. He threw himself, fully armed, into the sea and ran ashore to press the attack, before his men reached land.

This and other actions have immortalized him as a perfect warrior. This image must be considered together with the image of the wounded soldier, sick and suffering, who became venerable by imitating the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Only the combination of all these aspects can give an adequate image of King Saint Louis IX.

A King Beloved by His PeopleAs a model statesman and Crusader, Saint Louis was loved and even venerated by his people. There is touching evidence of this.

Though medieval coins are rare, the most common of all are those minted during the reign of Saint Louis. Since his effigy was on these coins, his people kept them as a medallion and remembrance of his reign. They guarded these coins so carefully, that many have survived. These outnumber all other coins of the epoch.

This demonstrates how a truly virtuous leader lifts his people up with him.

There is a beautiful prayer written to Saint Louis by Constable Du Guesclin, one of Saint Joan of Arc’s companions-in-arms. Though written years after Saint Louis’ death, it gives an idea of how great he was.

Keep me pure as the lily engraved on your coat of arms, O thou who kept thy word even when given to the Infidel. Never allow a lie to pass my lips, even should frankness cost me my life. Man of prowess, incapable of retreat, burn the bridges that lead to my excuses, so that I will always advance towards the most arduous part of the battle.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Bernadette Soubirous was a simple country girl who became like a noble by her contact with Our Lady

Bernadette was the dunce of her class and was frequently the butt of jokes. She often stood in the place of shame before the others as an example of ignorance and dullness.

Bernadette never resented this injustice nor thought it anything but the most natural thing in the world. Her eyes had a somewhat dreamy apathetic look that caused teachers to assume she was lazy or stupid. She was neither, but her sort of intelligence was of a kind not generally appreciated by the common run of people.

In contrast to her apathetic gaze, she could suddenly come out with a comment or answer so forthright and incisive that people were taken aback. Unable to fathom such directness, they mistook it for impertinence. Indeed, a lot of vivacity was hidden under that apathetic exterior, something very noticeable in some of the photographs taken of her.

This trait infuriated many an interrogator, from the Lourdes police chief, to the public prosecutor, and the local parish priest (who once threatened to run her out of his office with a broom), and Sister Vauzous, her disciplinarian mistress of novices.

Once a group of distinguished persons arrived to see her. The priest who led the delegation was frankly skeptical. “Let’s see if we can believe you,” he said. To which she replied: “It isn’t important if your reverence believes me.” The cleric, now quite irritated, added: “If you lie, you’re the cause of us making this long journey for nothing!”

Only to hear Bernadette shoot back: “But your reverence, I didn’t want to be the cause of your journey.” Answers like this were said with such simple honesty that they were mistaken for sarcasm.

When the apparitions ended Bernadette said “the lady” would not come to her again, that she was simply “a broom used for a while” and was now “no longer needed”. The applause of the crowds meant as little to her as did the threats of the police. When once told by an indiscrete visitor that her photograph was being sold for two sous (half a dollar) on every street corner in Lourdes she remarked with all sincerity “That is all I am worth.”

“Everything about Bernadette was simple, even common, at first sight”, wrote one who knew her well. “Her dress was plain but immaculately neat, indicative of self-respect and dignity amid poverty. When she spoke her unaffected language and her quiet earnest tone won one’s confidence.”

Her contact with the Queen of Heaven elevated all that was already good in her, to the point that many remarked she had become like a noble even in her outward appearance.

Franz Werfel writes in his Song of Bernadette: “The contact with the all-beautiful lady had not failed to affect her outer being. At sixteen the ailing girl was very beautiful. Nothing in her face recalled the common features of Francois and Louise Soubirous. A wholly alien subtilisation, never intended by Nature originally, shone from her face.

The roundness of her childish face had developed into a pale oval; under a well-modeled forehead the strangely apathetic eyes grew ever larger. The peasant raiment that Bernadette was accustomed to wear did not harmonize with this increasing distinction of aspect. Yet it was her desire not to look otherwise than her mother and sister.”

A witness to the apparitions, Jean-Baptiste Estrade, tells us: “ She usually ended her prayers with a profound reverence to the hidden lady. I have moved much in society and I have encountered models of elegance and distinction, but never have I seen anyone make a bow with such grace and refinement as did Bernadette. During the ecstasy the child also made the sign of the cross, and if the sign of the cross is made in heaven it can only be made in that manner.”

If there is any conclusion that can be taken from the Russian invasion of Georgia, it is that there has been a major change in the world panorama. In a political atmosphere where many are clamoring for change, this chilling change of climate does not bode well. With the carefully-timed invasion at the opening of the Beijing Olympics, Russia bullied its way on to the world stage. Its unsophisticated armed forces, complete with marauding Cossacks, quickly overpowered the small Georgian armed forces and looted the occupied areas. In so doing, Russia sent a signal to the West that it thinks its era of ex-superpower is over. The central problem of this change is not the complex ethnical and territorial issues that plague all of Eastern Europe. These are definitely issues that must be discussed and resolved. It is not even about Russian right to assert itself as a nation. The change is about a policy of aggression outside of the rule of international law that has been put in place, threatening world stability and security. Awash in Western petro-dollars, Russia’s display of bluster and bluff seems intent on challenging the West to a new bout.

The Georgian Flag

Beyond Tbilisi Of course, everyone knows that the bombs falling upon Tbilisi and Gori reverberate well beyond the weak democratic nation of Georgia. They rattle the windows of all Russia's former Baltic and East European satellites who have embraced the West. The shabby excuses to “reestablish order” in South Ossetia and Abkhazia will serve equally well to act in similar regions. The consequences of the Georgia action are only too apparent to those nations who long suffered under the Soviet yoke. Poland, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania clearly read the handwriting on the wall and courageously hurried to Georgia’s defense. Poland has hastily signed an accord to put missile defense systems on its soil immediately provoking the growling irritation of the Russian bear. Threatened countries are asking to join NATO as insurance to their independence. Message to the World The bombs on Georgia also rattle world oil markets as Russia handily put the oil-rich Caspian Basin in its pocket by effectively cutting off the only independent pipelines in the region. Since Russia is one of Europe’s largest energy suppliers, the “Georgia card” strengthens the hand of Russia which is only too willing to intimidate Europe by threatening to turn off the spigot. All the while, the West fiddles while Georgia burns. More than territorial gains, the Russian annexations are meant to test Western resolve. A calculating Russia seems to count on the lack of union in the European Union. She takes advantage of the uncertainty around the coming American elections and commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan. The only conclusion to be taken is that a major policy change is happening: Moscow no longer shies away from military action in pursuing its interests. The West must show resolve by adjusting its policies accordingly.

Russia borders Georgia for almost 500 miles.

Shadows of Fatima The implications of the Russian moves extends well beyond neighboring countries. It calls to mind the threats to world peace mentioned by Our Lady at Fatima. From the chilling winds of a Cold War, one can see that the Russian danger that seemed so distant after the fall of the Berlin Wall is back at the gates. The warning of Our Lady at Fatima about Russian errors spreading about the earth now comes back onto the stage – and her message is ever more timely.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Charlemagne and the foundation of Catholic Europe was the theme of this year's Call to Chivalry camp at Saint Louis de Montfort Academy.

Young men from several countries and states attended. William Murphy from Ireland receives his memento at the closing ceremony from TFP director, Mr. Louis Antonio Fragelli, and American TFP founder, Mr. John Spann.

Only two boys who had received too many demerits did not get a memento.

The most important part of the Camp; the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

The boys did Catholic activism as well, standing in front of an abortion clinic, holding signs and saying the Rosary.

The boys were fascinated by a demonstration in real medieval fighting and weaponry.

Satan, while hidden, remains active in us and in society

BEND — The Conference which I attended in Chicago this week dealt with the spiritual activity in the Church known as deliverance ministry and exorcism. I wrote about this last year after I had listened to a series of tapes from a conference on the same topic which was held in 2007. Many aspects of deliverance and exorcism were covered in the course of the four-day conference including the canonical, the theological, the psychological, the spiritual and the personal. At the very foundation of the conference stands the truth that we live in a world surrounded by spiritual beings and those spiritual beings, including angels, saints and demons, interact with us in a variety of ways. Some of that interaction is very helpful and supportive, some of it is not. Obviously any interaction with satanic or demonic spiritual beings is fraught with spiritual danger and we as Catholics need to be aware of the reality of Satan, aware of his wickedness and snares, and live in such a way that we do not fall under his sway or influence. Just as we were accustomed, perhaps more so as children than at present, to recite the Guardian Angel Prayer asking for our Angel’s light, guardianship, rulership and guidance so we should also pray to be protected from the “wickedness and snares of the devil.”

In the course of the conference I was pleased to engage in a conversation with a young priest who reminded me of a book on the activities of the devil which is very much a classic. The book, The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, is a series of one-sided letters written by senior devil Screwtape to his nephew apprentice devil, Wormwood. Uncle Screwtape gives guidance and direction to a sometimes hapless and quasi incompetent Wormwood who repeatedly fails in one way or another to properly ensnare his assigned subject. It is a wondrously topsy-turvy world in which, from the devil’s perspective, blessedness is devilishness, success in resisting temptation is failure, and human causes of genuine joy are disastrous losses for Satan. Repeatedly the despicable (which is a high compliment) Screwtape chastises Wormwood, who is perhaps too good (what a horrible insult) for his failure to be devilish or shrewd enough in his assigned duty as junior tempter. Besides being quite entertaining, the book awakens the reader to the reality of the spiritual or supernatural world and very imaginatively portrays the machinations and strategizing of the evil one in “winning souls.”

While there is a great deal of interest in and curiosity about the devil in the realm of possession and exorcism, there is much less interest in him in the realm of one’s day-to-day life. Indeed, in the realm of our own lives. For the most part, people of America generally proceed with their daily lives as if Satan did not exist at all. An undue fascination with the details of possession is perhaps not spiritually healthy but neither is ignoring the existence of the devil and the reality of evil. We can be sure he is not ignoring us.

The devil is insanely jealous of us. He is jealous because God, bypassing the angelic spirits, chose to link His Divine nature with our human nature in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. The singular purpose of Satan then, with a fervor which is fed by jealousy, is to sabotage as many of the individual relationships with God as possible. We are assured that those who maintain a strong relationship with the Lord in prayer and sacraments are extremely unlikely to fall prey to possession but we are all victims of ongoing temptation. It is this role of tempter which C.S. Lewis explores in The Screwtape Letters. A sensitivity in the spiritual life needs to include an awareness of the tactics of the devil and a firm resolve to avoid and resist the wickedness and snares of the devil. This is precisely the purpose of the prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel. In that prayer, we acknowledge that we are involved in a battle with the forces of evil, “Saint Michael, Archangel, defend us in battle” and we ask his specific intervention, “be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.” We then go one step further invoking God’s own direct assistance, “May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,” and then back to Saint Michael and all the angels, “and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all the other evil spirits.” Then at the end of the prayer we take note of the reason why we have sought the intercession of the great Saint Michael in the first place. This is because those evil spirits are the ones “who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.” These souls whom Satan and his evil minions prowl about the world seeking to destroy are not anonymous other souls but rather our own souls and those of our brothers and sisters in the Lord.

It is certainly important that we not become excessively consumed or obsessed by the presence and activity of the evil one but it is also most important that we not be oblivious to his presence or activity, for it is real. All one needs to do is look at the state of moral confusion which reigns in our present society. The killing of the sick or elderly because they want it is being promoted as some kind of right or good but this can be so only in the topsy-turvy world of Screwtape and Wormwood. When taking the life of an innocent pre-born child is seen as right and a right and when the preservation of precisely that right becomes the object of a political campaign, I suspect the letter from Screwtape to the demon master of that campaign would be filled with praise. When a whole society begins to question whether marriage really requires one man and one woman, faithfully committed to each other in an exclusive and child-centered relationship, Satan must be very pleased indeed. Screwtape’s letters to the untiring tempters who pulled off that coup would have to be filled with devilish pride. For that kind of confusion and moral inversion to have made this kind of progress in our society, it was and is necessary for Satan to have been very active and at the same time to remain very hidden. When he is so subtly hidden, there is no limit to the wickedness and snares of the devil.

When we look at our society and see the depths of depravity to which it has already sunk we must, like in the parable of the wheat and the tares, come to the unmistakable conclusion that “an enemy has done this.”

Pope Pius XII in the Papal Encyclical Ad Coeli Reginam proposed the traditional doctrine on the Queenship of Mary and established this feast for the Universal Church.

Pope Pius IX said of Mary's queenship: "Turning her maternal Heart toward us and dealing with the affair of our salvation, she is concerned with the whole human race. Constituted by the Lord Queen of Heaven and earth, and exalted above all choirs of Angels and the ranks of Saints in Heaven, standing at the right hand of Her only-begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, she petitions most powerfully with Her maternal prayers, and she obtains what she seeks."

And Pope Pius XII added the following: "We commend that on the festival there be renewed the consecration of the human race to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Upon this there is founded a great hope that there will rejoice in the triumph of religion and in Christian peace...

...Therefore, let all approach with greater confidence now than before, to the throne of mercy and grace of our Queen and Mother to beg help in difficultly, light in darkness and solace in trouble and sorrow...

. . Whoever, therefore, honors the lady ruler of the Angels and of men - and let no one think themselves exempt from the payment of that tribute of a grateful and loving soul - let them call upon her as most truly Queen and as the Queen who brings the blessings of peace, that She may show us all, after this exile, Jesus, who will be our enduring peace and joy."

We're moving closer to the 3,000 rally captain mark. And we're working and praying to reach the 3,000 mark for Our Lady's birthday on September 8th.

What a wonderful birthday present that would be for her.

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News that makes Our Lady cry!

Another reason we are pressing so hard to spread the Rosary Rallies across America is to oppose the wave of sin and blasphemy in our country.

Please see below some disturbing examples of this:

Birth Rates Continue to Plunge: US Census Bureau

By Jenna Murphy

WASHINGTON, August 19, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The percentage of childless women who have reached the end of their child-bearing years in the United States has doubled from 10% to 20% in the last 30 years, reported the US Census Bureau on Monday.

The survey also found that, "Women 40 to 44 years old will end their childbearing years with an average of 1.9 children each, a number below replacement-level fertility." This is markedly fewer children than in 1976, when 3.1 children was the national average.

Hollywood has some experience with movies purporting Jesus Christ to have been involved with Mary Magdalene, even to have had children by her—anyone remember The Da Vinci Code?—but, apparently, it hasn't had enough. Not one but two new films will explore the concept—and both of them just happen to be based on comic books.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Obstacles Put In the Way Of Volunteer Traveling to the Public Square Rosary Campaign Office

Last evening America Needs Fatima member and veteran volunteer, Mrs. Thelma Escaro had some very interesting things happen to her on her flight from California to Kansas. Her connecting flight was supposed to take off from Denver. There was a mechanical problem that prevented that flight, so they told everyone that they would be put on another flight. The plane for the new flight had a fire somewhere in the rear of the plane, so another flight had to be found.

"I was scared. I don't think the devil wanted me to go. But the Blessed Mother won," Mrs. Escaro said.

Needless to say, her flight was two hours late, with her enthusiasm not dampened in the least. "This was the first time I had to board three planes. It was very unusual."

Currently today we have signed up 2,616 rally captains, Ad Majoram Dei Gloriam!

This afternoon our dedicated volunteers signed up our 2,500th rally captain for the October 11th Public Square Rosary, and it is only August!

We have every confidence that our goal of 3,000 rally captains will be met and exceeded by October 11th. What a large bouquet of roses for Our Lady!

Potential rally captains have been notified that we will be taking a rose to Fatima on October 13th in the name of each and every rally captain. This has caused an increase in the number of captains who sign up.

If you would like a rose taken to Fatima in your name contact us at (866) 584 - 6012) or you can email us at: anf@americaneedsfatima.org and we will be happy to enlist you as a rally captain and take your rose to Fatima.

And on the website of the movie distributor, you read: Want to be the first to learn how to join the Rock Me, Sexy Jesus! fan team?

And yes, you guessed it, Hamlet 2 was written and directed by the homosexual filmmaker Andrew Fleming. A movie like this should never be shown in theaters. It truly a terrible sin; blasphemy on a national scale.

The news that your company is the distributor for Hamlet 2, with its song Rock Me, Sexy Jesus was shocking.

I am deeply upset and disappointed. The movie is an egregious display of blasphemy. Over 82% of America is Christian. Millions feel insulted by this show. Such a production offends in many ways because it is at the opposite end of the spectrum of basic decency and moral behavior.

Nothing like this should be produced. I hope your company will NEVER again distribute a movie as disgraceful as Hamlet 2. Thank you!____________________

Two of our volunteers today had some very interesting conversations. To me, these conversations demonstrate the graces of Our Lady touching souls across our country.

In the first case, one of our volunteers spoke with an elderly woman who was a rally captain last year. This year she decided that she wasn't able to organize a rally. She did however, promise Our Lady, that if someone asked her, that she would consider it a sign that Our Lady wanted her to organize a rally again this year.

A couple of weeks later, she attended First Friday Mass. After Mass as she was leaving the Church, someone she knew came up to her, and asked her if she was going to organize a rally again this year. She considered that a sign from Our Lady so she is now one of over 2,400 rally captains.

Another volunteer from San Diego CA, spoke with someone who didn't seem to have the time to become a rally captain. The caller then told the person that she too was from San Diego which prompted a good conversation. At the end the person enthusiastically agreed to become a rally captain, plus, she plans on bringing her youth group with her!

On the feast day of the Assumption, America Needs Fatima volunteers traveled to the Carmel of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in Valparaiso, NE to witness the profession of former and very dedicated America Needs Fatima volunteer, (Catherine Lee) Sister Gabrielle Marie.

The Pontifical High Mass offered by Lincoln, Nebraska Bishop, Fabian Bruskewitz was inspiring to say the very least. Accompanied by a number of clergy clothed in beautiful vestments of gold, the entire Mass and ceremony moved all who had the incredibly good fortune to be there.

After the gospel, Bishop Bruskewitz accepted the vows of Sister Gabrielle Marie in the sanctuary. Sister Gabrielle Marie accompanied by her fellow Sisters, participated in this ceremony from behind the grill in accordance with the strict cloister of the Carmelite rule.

After the Mass, an excellent luncheon was served to the guests in an outdoor tent. Each group of families were then called for the opportunity to visit with Sister Gabrielle Marie at the grill.

Men of today's world cannot remotely understand how such a life of total self sacrifice can exist. They don't remotely see how such a person could even be remotely happy. Well, if they had the opportunity to meet Sister on that day, they would see the complete happiness in her face. She spoke so kindly to each and every family, asking about each member and about all of the events happening in their lives. To one family she wanted to know all about the Public Square Rosary Campaign. The most important gift that Sister offered each and every family and the Public Rosary Campaign was her prayers.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

The same California Supreme Court that created a "right" to homosexual "marriage" earlier this year has now ruled that the state may force healthcare professionals to provide services that support an immoral and physically dangerous lifestyle.

Monday August 18, 2008

Homeschooling Showdown in Brazil: Children to be Tested by Court in Battle Over Educational Rights of Parents

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

MINAS GERAIS, BRAZIL, August 18, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Two homeschooled children face a battery of tests this week in a showdown between the Brazilian government and a Christian family over the educational rights of parents in the South American nation.

The children of Cleber and Bernadeth Nunes have already passed the entrance exams for law school at the ages of 13 and 14, but that doesn't satisfy the Brazilian government, which has been trying to force them into its troubled school system since 2006.

Is Yoga evil?

A leading exorcist claims yoga can be a path to "the evil spirit"

Bess Twiston Davies

Yoga – is it religion or exercise? And should Christians do it?

That was the question Times Online asked Swami Ramdevji, an Indian yoga guru with a 120-million strong following worldwide on his recent visit to London (see video above). Ramdevji, founder of the Yoga Institute in India, which is billed as the largest yoga centre in the world, believes his brand of Pranayama yoga, based on breathing techniques, can cure serious health ailments and bring followers health, wealth and inner peace. Millions follow his classes on AsiaTV, thousands attend his free outdoor classes held in North India.

Shroud of Turin stirs new controversy

A life-sized illuminated photograph of the Shroud of Turin, believed by some--including John and Rebecca Jackson--to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ.

A Colorado couple researching the shroud dispute radiocarbon dating of the alleged burial cloth of Jesus, and Oxford has agreed to help them reexamine the findings.

By DeeDee Correll, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer August 17, 2008

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- The tie that binds John and Rebecca Jackson is about 4 feet by 14 feet, woven of herringbone twill linen. It once led to their romance; years later, it still dominates their thoughts and fills their conversations.

One of our veteran volunteers told us of a doctor in Nebraska whom she spoke with today. This very busy doctor is going to close her office during the public rosary on October 11th so that she can be a rally captain in her community.

Monday, August 18, 2008

As of this morning, we had 2,411 Rosary Rally Captains! I ask you to join me in thanking Our Lady of Fatima for such a wonderful result.

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Muslim father kills Christian daughter

Allie Martin - OneNewsNow - 8/18/2008 5:00:00 AM

An official with a human rights organization says the oil rich Saudi Arabian government is promoting a virulent form of Islam to the entire world.

Recently, International Christian Concern (ICC) staffers learned that a Saudi Arabian man tortured and killed his daughter for converting to Christianity. The killer, who is in custody, works for a government entity that enforces religious purity and actively persecutes Christians in Saudi Arabia.

A secret Chinese government document has been uncovered that orders churches in that country to shut their doors for three months. The order is timed to coincide with the Olympic games and says church members who violate the rules will be subject to disciplinary actions of the Chinese government.

Daniel Burton is with the China Aid Association, which discovered the directive. He says the communist Chinese government will go to great lengths to create a seemingly harmonious society.

Uniontown, Indiana, has been fighting a porn shop for three years since the county council permitted the business.

About three dozen area residents have been at the forefront of the fight, along with two grandmothers who have been stalwarts in the campaign. One of the grandmothers -- Joyce Gillaspy -- says they are serious about shutting down the shop.

"And some of us even went to jail in protest because we blocked the drive, trying to finish the building, from getting it done [sic]," she said. Several have maintained a vigil and they say it has worked because truckers have stopped visiting the shop. "We call and let the companies know their trucks are in this porn store, and they don't want their trucks being seen [there]," says Gillaspy.

08/18/2008 10:02 INDIA More martyrs: a Carmelite priest is massacred in Andhra PradeshNirmala Carvalho 38 year old Fr. Thomas Pandippallyil, was assassinate don the night of August 16th on his way to a village to celebrate Sunday mass. His body showed signs of torture, with wounds to his face, his hands and legs broken and his eyes pulled from their sockets. The bishop of Hyderabad denounces the growing climate of “violence against Catholics” in the country.

The jump is beautiful. The knight and the horse are one in the jump and participate in the same flight.

It is a most beautiful, faithful and expressive manifestation of human courage. It is human spirit at its finest, in its capacity to dare and to advance.

When in Portugal, visit the Tower of Belem from where the Portuguese kings once saw off their fleets that crossed the ocean in search of new lands, always “increasing in Christian daring.”

It is beautiful to see the human spirit with this outlook of faith. Launching into the unknown. For the Portuguese sailors of the 15th century, the ocean was the great unknown.

Their ships were nutshells compared to today’s huge merchant vessels. It is beautiful to see the human spirit at the moment when it departs on a daring and brave mission.

There is much less beauty of spirit in flying an airplane. The risk factor in flying is extremely low due to the specialized material used to make airplanes, and all the help from technology, machines and computers.

There is a certain determinism in flying by which the degree of risk is perfectly measured. Everything has been charted, measured and tested. To fly a plane is far less risky than to sail in a ship like Christopher Columbus did.

It is beautiful to see men in a ship floating upon the uncertainties of the ocean, sailing towards a far away place. We see this same beauty in the knight as he lunges forward on horseback.

But the knight has an advantage over the plane; the knight steers a living, breathing animal. He governs its movement, direction and energy.

The vitality of the horse depends on the mental control that the knight has over it. A bold knight conveys resolve to his horse. The knight weighs on the horse, but he helps the horse to carry the weight. The knight and horse form, in a sense, one daring powerful attack. They participate in the same flight.

One more thing. We now understand the meaning of the horse’s jump. We realize that the knight’s jump is more important the horse’s.

The impression I get from the picture is that almost the entire jump comes from the soul of the knight.

The horse is bigger. But the knight is human and controls the horse. The knight’s body is bigger than his head. But his head guides his body and is worth more. The head is smaller than the body. But the intelligence shines forth from the head. It should, therefore, be crowned with all the glory conquered in battle.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

God wishes to be praised by all His creatures, from the peacock that lives out in the open, to the ant that lives in the hidden darkness of the earth.

There is something magnificent about the ant -- its work, humility and constant activity. You could almost say its work is organized and rational. Its colonies are perfectly constructed.

The ant is different from the butterfly. When you see a butterfly, you are enchanted with its bluish-green color and its flying pattern.

If we were to make a collection of God’s creatures, we would find the most diverse perfections -- from humility to magnificence.

God desires to be known in all His works.

Creatures exist in great variety. They form collections.

This is so creation reflects God in the most complete manner possible. Consider a collection of precious stones. To be complete, it must contain many stones. To be truly magnificent, it must display every possible beauty that a stone can have.

The Koh-I-Noor diamond has radiance and beauty which easily recalls the splendor of Divine Intelligence.

So also with men. God created several races, each with its own characteristics and abilities. This variety is magnificent and expresses God’s perfection.

God also created the peacock. But He gave man the talent to make silk. Fabric made of quality silk is magnificent! The rustle of silk is attractive; try it…take silk cloth and rub one part against another -- the friction is fascinating.

Imagine a Marchioness walking by with the train of her dress gliding along the floor and the light from the chandeliers reflecting off her silk gown -- how splendorous!

Seeing things and what they symbolize expands horizons and unites souls tremendously. You cannot imagine how beautiful and admirable it would be were all to understand symbols as they ought!

Thanks to Our Lady, today, August 16, we're almost at 2,500 rosary rallies planned for October 11, 2008.

I think you will agree these rallies are urgent in light of the recent Russian aggression against Georgia, which calls to mind Our Lady's words at Fatima that if people did not convert, Russia will spread its errors around the world causing wars and persecutions of the Church.

More than ever we need Our Lady's intervention in our world.

If you'd like to be a rally captain please call 866-584-6012, or sign up online:

British Tory Leader Supports Unlimited Abortion for Disabled Unborn Children

By Hilary White

LONDON, August 15, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The leader of Britain's Tory opposition party has stated that he supports eugenic abortion for disabled infants up to the time of birth. In the build-up to party conference season in the autumn, David Cameron was asked if he would be willing to change the law, amended in 1990, that allows disabled children to be aborted at any time of gestation up to the point of birth.

On July 25, the feast of St. James the Apostle, the Church observed the 40th anniversary of the publication of the Encyclical (Of Human Life), by Pope Paul VI. “Forty years after its publication,” Benedict XVI emphasized during the commemoration, “this teaching not only expresses its unchangedtruth but also reveals the farsightedness with which the problem is treated.”[1]

The Sexual Revolution

The context of the encyclical letter was the Sexual Revolution of the mid-sixties. Fashion, literature and the entertainment industry all contributed to an atmosphere where sexual mores were overturned. This was especially seen in Hollywood movies and television shows, the discovery of the contraceptive pill and the advent of the miniskirt. In May 1968, the outbreak of student riots in most university campuses of the West gave the Sexual Revolution an ideological foundation, unifying and giving meaning to a whole range of disorderly tendencies turned against traditional morals. It was an anarchist ideology mixing Marxism with Freudianism. It denied all order, authority and moral norms. It can best be summarized in the slogan painted on the walls of the University of Paris’ Sorbonne campus: “It is forbidden to forbid.”

At the same time, liberal Catholic circles increasingly called upon the Church to “adapt to the world.” Countless theologians began to contend that the Church should change her perennial morals and forfeit her intransigence in sexual matters by accepting sexual ‘freedom’ and the use of contraceptives.

The Church Cannot Change God’s Law Expressed in Nature

It was in this climate of contestation that Pope Paul VI, after a seemingly long hesitation, decided to publish his much-awaited encyclical on contraception, Humanae Vitae. To the relief of faithful Catholics and the consternation of liberals, the Pope reaffirmed the Church’s traditional doctrine on the nature of marriage and the sexual act and condemned the use of the pill or any other artificial means of contraception.

The encyclical clearly explains why it reaffirms the Church’s perennial doctrine: The Church cannot change God’s Law expressed in nature. The document states:

Since the Church did not make either of these laws, she cannot be their arbiter—only their guardian and interpreter. It could never be right for her to declare lawful what is in fact unlawful, since that, by its very nature, is always opposed to the true good of man.[2]

The encyclical is based on natural law and on Revelation, both of which manifest the will of God. The Magisterium of the Church was given the mission not only to interpret Revelation but also natural law, and it therefore addresses morals in all its aspects:

Jesus Christ, when He communicated His divine power to Peter and the other Apostles and sent them to teach all nations His commandments, constituted them as the authentic guardians and interpreters of the whole moral law, not only, that is, of the law of the Gospel but also of the natural law. For the natural law, too, declares the will of God, and its faithful observance is necessary for men's eternal salvation.[3]By its Very Nature, the Sexual Act Is Ordained to Procreation of Offspring

According to natural law and Revelation, Humanae Vitae emphasizes, the sexual act, “exclusive to them [the spouses] alone,”[4] is by its own nature “ordained toward the procreation and education of children.”[5]

For this reason, the encyclical does not hesitate to affirm:

The Church ... in urging men to the observance of the precepts of the natural law, which it interprets by its constant doctrine, teaches that each and every marital act must of necessity retain its intrinsic relationship to the procreation of human life.[6]

Contrary to the today’s anti-childbearing mentality which sees children as obstacles to marital happiness, the encyclical recalls:

Children are really the supreme gift of marriage and contribute in the highest degree to their parents' welfare.[7]

To Oppose the Order of Nature Is to Go Against the Will of God

Thus the encyclical outlines the obligation of spouses to stick to the norms dictated by natural and divine law, as they “are not free to act as they choose in the service of transmitting life” but “are bound to ensure that what they do corresponds to the will of God the Creator.”[8]

When the marital act is practiced in such a way that it “impairs the capacity to transmit life which God the Creator, through specific laws, has built into it,” it runs against the design of God, “which constitutes the norm of marriage.” Consequently, the spouses enter into “opposition to the plan of God and His holy will.”[9] In plain language, they sin.

Contraceptive Practices are Condemned

Thus, the Church cannot accept but must condemn contraception:

Therefore We base Our words on the first principles of a human and Christian doctrine of marriage when We are obliged once more to declare that the direct interruption of the generative process already begun and, above all, all direct abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, are to be absolutely excluded as lawful means of regulating the number of children. Equally to be condemned, as the Magisterium of the Church has affirmed on many occasions, is direct sterilization, whether of the man or of the woman, whether permanent or temporary. ….Similarly excluded is any action which either before, at the moment of, or after sexual intercourse, is specifically intended to prevent procreation—whether as an end or as a means.[10]

In order to better understand the scope and seriousness of this condemnation, it is well to recall that the Pope made it clear that he was speaking as Doctor of the Universal Church and successor of the Apostles. Indeed, after expounding the new problems arising for the Magisterium, the Pope unequivocally states:

We, by virtue of the mandate entrusted to Us by Christ, intend to give Our reply to this series of grave questions.[11]

Inseparability of the Act’s Unitive and Procreative Aspects

Some liberal theologians claimed that the unitive aspect of the marital act alone is sufficient to justify it. Hence, it could be detached from the procreative aspect, thereby justifying the use of the contraceptive pill. The encyclical, instead, reaffirms that the unitive and procreative aspects of the marital act are inseparable by their very nature, as established by the Creator. Therefore, man may not on his own initiative break the inseparable connection “between the unitive significance and the procreative significance which are both inherent to the marriage act.”[12]

The Theory of the “Lesser Evil” Does not Apply

Likewise, such theologians invoke the theory of the “lesser evil” to justify using the contraceptive pill.

However, the encyclical explains that the theory does not apply to this case by affirming:

[I]t is never lawful, even for the gravest reasons, to do evil that good may come of it (Rom. 3: 8 ) — in other words, to intend directly something which of its very nature contradicts the moral order, and which must therefore be judged unworthy of man, even though the intention is to protect or promote the welfare of an individual, of a family or of society in general.[13]

Contraception Destroys Fidelity and Lowers Moral Standards

One who analyzes Humanae Vitae cannot fail to admire the wisdom of the traditional doctrine of the Church expressed in the encyclical. The Church foresaw the situation of the modern world in which the State would exhibit an ever growing tendency to impose its own norms on the family, leading to a frightening corruption of morals.

Indeed, Humanae Vitae underlines the fact that artificial birth control easily paves the way “for marital infidelity” and causes “a general lowering of moral standards,” particularly exposing young people to temptation.

“There Are Limits Which No One Can Lawfully Exceed”

For this reason, the encyclical emphasizes:

Who will blame a government which in its attempt to resolve the problems affecting an entire country resorts to the same measures as are regarded as lawful by married people in the solution of a particular family difficulty?

[U]nless we are willing that the responsibility of procreating life should be left to the arbitrary decision of men, we must accept that there are certain limits, beyond which it is wrong to go, to the power of man over his own body and its natural functions—limits, let it be said, which no one, whether as a private individual or as a public authority, can lawfully exceed. 14]

The True Solution: To Restore and Protect Chastity

There is nothing utopian about the solution presented by Humanae Vitae. It is the only one that really works. What is needed is to create an “atmosphere favorable to the growth of chastity so that true liberty may prevail over license and the norms of the moral law may be fully safeguarded.”

The document notes that unfortunately the virtue of chastity, without which the family is doomed to perish, is attacked in every possible way:

Everything therefore in the modern means of social communication which arouses men's baser passions and encourages low moral standards, as well as every obscenity in the written word and every form of indecency on the stage and screen, should be condemned publicly and unanimously by all those who have at heart the advance of civilization and the safeguarding of the outstanding values of the human spirit. It is quite absurd to defend this kind of depravity in the name of art or culture or by pleading the liberty which may be allowed in this field by the public authorities.[15]

Obey God’s Laws

Forty years after its publication, the teachings of Humanae Vitae continue as valid as ever. This can be seen in light of the debate over homosexual “marriage” and so many other aberrations that so threaten the family and human life itself. Amid such confusion, the true doctrine about the purpose of the sexual act and, therefore, of marriage must be always reaffirmed.

Based on the immutability of human nature and on divine Wisdom and Will, Catholic doctrine preaches today what is has always, and will always preach to the end of time.

Such preaching may not always be popular. Indeed, Humanae Vitae was received with dismay and scorn by the promoters of the Sexual Revolution. However, such scorn does not make the truth any less true. In fact, the ringing condemnation of the Sexual Revolution stands out even more amid the moral chaos as a constant call to return to the true nature of marriage.